Oceania Sevens rugby
What a cracker of a game the final between the two rivals Fiji and New Zealand from the first whistle to the last. It sure was an edge of the seat expected game that had most of the fans roaring for the home team Fiji to score and that gave us the urge to make it a golden game. Vinaka ra boys. You all worked well in the do or die time allowed. Take nothing away from the Kiwis who also played their hearts out until the end, which was too much for them to handle by the fans who were on their feet yelling go Fiji go. Toso Viti, toso.
Richard M. Abel
Suva
Torn clothes
I held back tears when I read Mohammed Imraz Khan’s letter about torn clothes being a fashion nowadays. (FT 12/11) It brought to mind our predicament that my children and I went through until we now can say we are content. We do not have a car, no fancy clothes and we save when we want to go places. Our luxury doesn’t come in fashion and my children hand down clothes that get handed down to the youngest and in turn we hand them on to those who need them, if they are still in good condition. Our clothes get torn from wear and tear, we dare not tear them because it’s all we have. Our luxury is when I go to a second-hand shop and buy someone’s used clothes that could have gone out of fashion for them. We live a modest life making ends meet with what we have. If you should see someone from our area wearing torn clothes, remember it’s not a fashion statement, it’s all we have. Thank you Mr Khan for your letter.
Mere Lagilagi
Lovu, Lautoka
Drainage system
Heavy downpour brought about the demise of drains in Nausori, Nabua and other parts of towns in Fiji. The problem is with the architectural designs of drains and engineering in Fiji. The four-lane road between Koronivia to Suva is being built, but the underground drains lack the nets to stop the bottles and rubbish from going inside the drain. If the FRA can tell the contractors to install a net or weldmesh along the drainage openings then the problem of blockages can be prevented. Secondly, people continue to throw rubbish in towns and cities. Is this the way forward for our generation? An upgrade is needed to drains along Nausori Town. I believe the town council is not a good one. The densely populated Nausori Town rakes in all sorts of money through town rates per year, but the output of the money to good use cannot be seen. No beautification, no good drainage, Syria Park gets flooded. Why can’t they make Syria Park level with the road? Put more soil and limestone and raise the level. I believe this just shows the laziness of Nausori Town and other bodies in coalition with the council. I believe the whole board needs a clean up.
Amrit Singh
Naselai, Bau Rd, Nausori
Medical challenge
Vinaka Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa for your kind and gracious comments (FT 12/11). And great to hear you have come through your challenging medical condition. Yes, prayer is also a powerful resource. However, if we’re only praying without making the tough decisions and choices of making the changes we desperately need to live a better and healthier life, then we can become our own worst enemy. As you so candidly put it, trusting in God’s provisions is the cornerstone and he has provided us with many resources, including experts in the health care industry to assist us in our journey of life. For those that believe the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit need to become the role models of life instead of just spruiking the biblical speak. Thanks again and I enjoy reading your letters Savenaca. Vinaka vakalevu.
Colin Deoki
Australia
Rugby replay
We had the opportunity to watch the replay between Fiji and Scotland. Disappointment all around because we know the players ply their trade in Europe and are superstars over there. We get to know about what they do when we read about it or see it on TV. They started off well and in the second half seem to lose it. We were shocked, because we expected better from them. But what can we say, they seem to have played their hearts out but the Bravehearts had bigger hearts.
Mere Lagilagi
Lovu, Lautoka
Garlic in tomatoes
A certain food advertisement has a boy pumping air into a tomato which enlarges and explodes. Upon explosion, the tomato shatters into pieces. Among the tomato fragments, there are a few garlic pods. If this is not an advertisement error, I believe we can use this agricultural innovation to stop importation of garlic. A massive reduction in our import bill.
Mohammed Imraz Janif
Natabua, Lautoka
Video decision
It was a charge down that led to a try. Well, it was overruled and a few million England fans were denied or robbed of a win. The England captain summed it and said in the after match interview, “Last week it was for us, this week it’s against us.” Spoken like a true champion. Congratulations to the All Blacks for the skin of the teeth win. Allen Lockington Kava Place, Waiyavi, Lautoka Issue of time The beauty of time is there is always more of it. Miss it today and you can meet it tomorrow. Just don’t give up on it.
Dan Urai
Lautoka
History of Nadi Airport
I quite enjoyed your feature article under Point of Origin by Shayal Devi on Page 16 of Monday’s FT (12/11) on the meaning of Nadi. Indeed, Nadi has an interesting story when it comes to how the Jet Set town was named or got its name. She refers to Robert Kennedy’s version of how Nadi was derived from the Hindi word nadee meaning river. I would like to refer her back to an article I wrote to the FT in response to Allen Lockington’s letter two years ago (ST 24/7/16) titled Names of towns and on the meaning of Nadi in which I had referred to and quoted my late father, when I asked him the very same question of how Nadi derived its name. The response he gave me in the local dialect was — Sa nadi du ko na seka! Which meant, this mud crab is very mature or ripe. The Bauan equivalent for ripe would be momona. A Capella’s A New Fijian Dictionary defines momona as: said of lairo (land crab) or qari (mud crab), when well filled with spawn or “well ripe”. The general name of the area where the airport is located is Namaka meaning fire in the local dialect. The east-west runway runs out into Nadi Bay. I once read an article in this same paper some years ago by a Mr Lutumailagi referring to the origins of the first settlers who sailed across Nadi Bay on their way to the site of their very first landing at Vuda (Origin) before they eventually dispersed at Viseisei (to disperse). He said that local legend says that when they sailed past, they saw smoke and fire. A ru qei soko tovo, qa ru sa tolavia ni sa kulu koto na maka. Meaning, there were already people inhabiting the land. Whether those first inhabitants fell directly from heaven (lutumailagi), I do not know. Some geological reports have referred to the existence of petroleum deposits in the Nadi basin. Again, locals had aptly named that beach front Wailolo or the Bauan equivalent Wailoaloa, meaning black water with its unusual black sand and Middle Eastern palm trees that lined that stretch of beach and the site of major tourism developments. It is just up the road from the Kennedy homestead at Saunaka right opposite the new Nalagi Investment hotel and the newly refurbished Mac Donald’s restaurant. According to my late father, kerosene had once seeped out of those very same sand some years ago. Who knows exactly what is in the basin underneath Nadi Bay and its surrounding iqoliqoli? I believe it would certainly be more than just land and mud crabs. It is often shared among the older generations in Nadi that the late Ratu Apolosi R Nawai of Navatulevu, a counterpart and of the same generation as Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, once predicted that Nadi or Namaka will be the landing ground or destination of visitors from the four winds. This was well before October, 1941 when General Douglas MacArthur then US Commander in the Philippines, directed that new airfields should be constructed in the South Pacific. So, it was indeed, but for a very different reason, and not a coincidence that Nadi was declared the main aerodrome site in Fiji. There is also talk of compensation by Mr Kennedy for the loss of several hundred acres of land which was taken during the war and no compensation was given. It is advisable that we tread carefully on these matters as I believe a compensation case by the original landowners of Namaka had as one of the very few appeal cases to have reached the Privy Council. There is I believe more at stake here than just the name Nadee or Nadi and what it really means and holds.
Joseva Namisi Leano
Dratabu, Nadi